


Drifting

by dvs



Series: Moments Inbetween [3]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Episode Related, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-25 22:57:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18172559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dvs/pseuds/dvs
Summary: Aaron and Robert return from the Dingle do after hearing Chas and Paddy's good news.





	Drifting

They get back to The Mill about five minutes before Liv arrives home, still taking their jackets off as Liv marches in and looks from Aaron to Robert, and then back to Aaron again with a shrug of her shoulders. Bloody hell, Robert thinks, at this rate she’ll be growing Aaron’s stubble too if she gets anymore similar to her brother than she already is.

“Well?” she asks. Aaron smiles at Robert and then at Liv, nodding. “Mum and Paddy are expecting.”

Liv is shocked for all of five seconds before she grins brightly and says, “That’s brilliant.”

Her and Aaron chatter about the Dingle buffet, both of them all smiles, whilst Robert tells them he’s going to get dinner started. Liv already has plans and is bounding off as quickly as she arrived, Robert watching her disappear up the stairs.

“Not sure I can stomach dinner,” Aaron says making his way slowly to the kitchen.

Robert looks him up and down with a grin. “Yeah? Shoulda’ thought of that before you put all those sausage rolls away.”

“You had more than me,” Aaron says, looking offended. “Why aren’t you about to explode?”

Robert shrugs. “Good metabolism.”

“Shut up,” Aaron says, looking so annoyed it just makes Robert grin.

Robert nods towards the stairs and says, “Since we’ve got the place to ourselves, how about a nice night in? Movie. Glass of wine.”

Aaron makes a face, but then nods and says. “Yeah, sounds good. I’m gonna go take a shower first though.”

“Alright,” Robert says. He nods towards the general direction of the oven and says, “we’ll have a sandwich or something then, if we get hungry.”

Aaron nods, already walking away. “Nice one.”

Robert watches him disappear and then just drifts around the kitchen for a bit, tidying the already too tidy counter tops, extracting some glasses, picking a bottle of wine. Settling them down, he takes off his shoes and puts them away before taking up his spot on the couch to waste the next ten minutes scrolling through Netflix. It’s best to do that without Aaron there to point out that you’re actually meant to pick something instead of just endlessly scrolling. Aaron doesn’t get it though. Sometimes a little delayed gratification goes a long way.

“You alright?”

Robert looks away from the screen to Liv. She looks a little more...coloured in. Her lips a little pinker, her eyes a little sparklier, her clothes just a little more fitted. There’s a shift in her demeanour too. She’s still that gobby kid who kicked him in the balls the first time they met, but there’s a strange private quietness about her these days, something that says she’s not going to be a kid for much longer. God...the things he’d gotten up to at her age. It all moves so fast.

“Rob?” she asks.

“Yeah, sorry, miles away. “ He smiles and says. “You look nice. Seeing Jacob?”

“Going into town to see a film.” She has just the slightest frown on her face still. Too smart for her own good. “You know...I could stay. Maybe we could all watch something...”

“Or,” Robert says, getting up and heading to where his jacket is hung up. He fishes out his wallet and pulls out a tenner, handing it to her, “you can make yourself scarce so your brother and I can-”

“No further explanation necessary,” Liv says grabbing the money and already moving. She gives him a bright smile and leaves with a spring in her step.

Robert goes back to his spot on the sofa, back to his quiet scrolling. He’s not sure how long he spends just endlessly searching for something perfect, but Aaron arrives before he’s made a choice.

“Please tell me you’ve actually picked something,” Aaron says, sitting down looking shower fresh with pinked skin and damp hair, wearing his grey trackies and long-sleeved black top.

Robert doesn’t obsess on the long-sleeves. They don’t have to mean anything. Aaron is a creature of comfort, a man of habits, someone who finds comfort in the small things, whether it’s retreating into a soft fabric shell, or fiddling with his wedding ring. Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter at all as long it’s not a blade or a knife.

“Here! What about that one?” Aaron says, pointing to the screen. Robert has no idea what Aaron’s pointing at, but his deductive capabilities tell him it’s the one with the overly serious looking superhero.

Robert selects it, commenting, “Whatever gets you in the mood.”

“Shut up,” Aaron says, looking delightfully amused and surprised at the same time. Robert ends up with a frozen smile on his face, just staring at Aaron. Aaron scowls back at him, smiling though, wearing an expression that clearly reads, _what is wrong with you?_

Robert pours them a glass each and settles back to watch. He manages about ten minutes of watching before his mind begins a slow drift. It begins, of course with Chas and Paddy. They deserve the good news. Especially after Grace. At least Robert knows Seb is safe and well. The idea of not even having that...Robert clenches his jaw for a moment, before he takes a gulp of wine.

Aaron was happy too, that much was obvious. Aaron wasn’t someone who easily hid his moods, his anger, or his joy. It was all written across his face, plain and simple. Aaron was happy and sometimes long sleeves were just long sleeves. Maybe tomorrow morning the reality of where they both were would set in again, and maybe the joy would be tainted, but for now, Aaron seems happy.

It’s a change up from their most recent disaster as a couple. Everything’s meant to be better now, isn’t it? They’re meant to be better. But there Aaron was trying to rent a womb, whist Robert was trying to crawl out of a hole of his own making. Bloody Graham. Bloody Home Farm. Bloody Emmerdale in fact. Sometimes...no. No, that’s not true. He doesn’t wonder what he’s doing here. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows exactly why he’s here.

Two glasses and two thirds through the film, Aaron seems to have done his own drifting off, a heavy weight against Robert, and snoring ever so slightly. Robert looks down at him, knocked completely out courtesy of a Dingle buffet and some fairly decent wine. But as if he’s aware of being watched, Aaron’s eyelids flutter open and a sleepy blue gaze fixes itself on Robert.

Robert smiles, quietly asking, “Alright?”

Aaron frowns at him. “Film’s finished?”

Robert looks at the screen. He has no idea what the hell is going on. Looking back at Aaron he says, “Yeah, almost.”

Aaron grimaces, rubbing his forehead and muttering, “I’m done in.”

“Lightweight,” Robert teases. He extracts his arm from where Aaron has been leaning against it so he can wrap it around Aaron’s shoulders. His husband sighs and slots in underneath, letting his head fall back, blinking a little less sleepily at the screen. “Want me to go back to where you dozed off?”

“Nah, can’t be bothered now,” Aaron says.

Robert looks at him, smiling as he rubs his thumb into Aaron’s bicep. “You know, Liv won’t be back for a bit yet. We’ve got the whole place to ourselves.”

Aaron grins at him, looking sleepy soft. “What we doing down here watching films then?”

“I was trying to romance you, wasn’t I?” Robert says, getting a laugh out of Aaron. “Didn’t know you were going to conk out before I could even try my lines on you.”

Aaron pulls a face, wearing an incredulous expression. “Please don’t try your lines on me.”

“You look dead tired, Aaron,” Robert says seriously. Aaron frowns at him suspiciously. “Is it because you’ve been running through my mind all day?”

“Right. We’re getting a divorce,” Aaron says with a nod, looking equally serious. Robert laughs, leaning into Aaron and poking him, Aaron curling away and holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay okay, stop!”

Robert stops, his fingers moving instead to Aaron’s arms so he can pull his husband close. Aaron smiles, coming easily, his hands pressing up against Robert’s chest as their lips slot together in a kiss. It’s a surprise there isn’t an audible click when they hold each other, their bodies always aligning so perfectly. Robert doesn’t believe destiny or things that are supposedly meant to be. Life is usually just a chaotic line of unplanned events, some of which work out, and some which blow up in your face.

Except for him and Aaron. Robert and Aaron are meant to be together. He can’t imagine himself living a life that doesn’t include Aaron. Just the idea of it makes his heart skip a beat, his stomach tie into a knot. His fingers dig into Aaron’s arms and their kiss deepens, Aaron eliciting a small noise of surprise. When their lips pull apart, they remain together, foreheads touching, because Robert just wants to hold on for a bit longer.

“Robert,” Aaron says softly, a note of worry in the way he says Robert’s name. There doesn’t need to be an inflection to let Robert know that’s a question being asked. Aaron could have a million ways to say Robert’s name, and Robert would know the meaning of every single way.

Robert swallows, pulling back to look at Aaron. “You know it’ll be us next, don’t ya?”

Aaron frowns, shaking his head slightly. He doesn’t understand immediately, and then it seems to dawn on him in one fail swoop, his expression freezing, his eyes becoming bright. His mouth twitches into the smallest of smiles, and his words are a little breathless when he says, “I know.”

“Because I want this,” Robert says with a nod.

Aaron nods, his voice thick when he says, “ _Robert_. I know you do.”

Robert moves his hands to grip Aaron’s, looking him square in the eye. “I just...I just don’t want you to lose hope, Aaron. We’ll have our own little family again. I know we will.”

Aaron wraps his arms tight around Robert, which is a blessing because Robert can feel tears burning his eyes, and he buries his face against Aaron’s shoulder until they disappear. They stay like that for a while, until Robert realises it’s maybe a little too long a while.

Aaron pulls back from him, his hand remaining on Robert’s shoulder as he softly asks him, “What about you? Are you alright?”

Robert doesn’t look at Aaron, focusing on the floor, his mouth clamped shut against the watery feeling around his lips and mouth, a dangerous tremor rippling through the muscles of his chin.

“Robert,” Aaron says softly, squeezing Robert’s shoulder.

Robert looks up at Aaron, nodding. “I wish Seb was here. With us.”

“I know,” Aaron says with a small sad smile. He shrugs. “Me too.”

Robert nods, feeling the quiet mania in his chest ebbing away, now that the words are out of his head and his mouth. He gives Aaron’s knee a squeeze, leaving his hand there when he looks back at Aaron.

Aaron gives Robert a sympathetic look and says, “Should we watch that show with all the fancy homes we can never afford and the mental interior designs you think are classy, but I think are just plain daft?”

“I thought you hate that show,” Robert says with a smile, feeling stupidly fond.

Aaron nods, looking just a little put upon. “Yeah, well, I love you, don’t I? It's making me go all soft.”

Robert grins. “Is it?”

“Just pass me the remote, will ya?” Aaron says.

Robert shakes his head, standing up and pulling Aaron up along with him, keeping him close and telling him, “I got a better idea. I suggest we both go rearrange the alphabet.”

Aaron frowns, his hands idly smoothing up and down Robert’s arms. “You what?”

“I was thinking I’d like to put U and I next to each other,” Robert says with a proud grin.

“Oh my god,” Aaron says, shaking his head and grimacing. “Remind me again why I married you.”

Robert leans in to whisper the reason into Aaron’s ear. It makes him turn a lovely shade of pink, and manage to both glare and smile at the same time as he commands Robert to, “shut up and get up those stairs.”

Robert just grins. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Though, the dangerous words he really wants to utter are, _whatever you want._

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, with any Robron scene, I just want moaaaaarr.


End file.
